Recently into reloading and used a Lee Classic loader for my 270Fist loads where IMR 4007sec with 46.9 grains with 130 game king bulletSighted in at 1 MOA at a 100 metersSo I took a 8 point buck with this round in December(one shot and drop quickly) and when I went to clean it I noticed the deer did not have an exit wound? From past experience with my Remington 130 Core Locks I always had an exit wound.

So my question is can you have too light of a load for hunting if that makes sense?

Obviously, the load worked. A typical 130 gr. bullet out of a .270 won't always exit, although it's pretty common on a Texas whitetail. Your load is a little light, right at what IMR calls a starting load. You're probably getting around 2600 fps. IMR load data says you could go up to 51.5 gr 4007SSC and get around 2900 fps. You could get even higher velocities with some other powders. There's nothing wrong with what you have, but you could certainly crank it up as long as you maintain your 1 MOA groups.

That's a good "starter load" for that round, and no exit at 96m is no surprise. It's probably going about 2200fps or a bit less. The Core-lokts you used were likely going just a tad faster, and I'm not being sarcastic. They were probably about 2500 or so, maybe 2600. If that's your usual shot I'd stay with it. I've honestly done very little .270 loading. My notes are certainly not complete and I'm extrapolating some data here, but I think I'm in the ball park.

edited to add: I bet you could have found the bullet just under the far-side skin.

Edited by Slow Drifter (02/15/1510:40 PM)

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"I have no idea what WW-III will be fought with, but WW-IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

Kinda surprised you didn't get an exit, but do not know what the bullet hit on its way through.

To a point cup and core bullets will penetrate more when started slower than pushed hard. Sure there is less energy for penetration but then there is less energy to cause fragmentation. If you want an exit just about every time go with a Partition, Mono-metal or bonded core type bullet. Or if sticking with cup and core a high sectional density bullet like the rarely used 160gr round nose cup and core bullet in the 270.

For the load you are using, some data shows it as a starting load while other sources have it at mid range. With the velocity expected you should be good for killing critters out to 250 to 300 yards reliably IMO.

I prefer my bullets to stay in the animal. If the bullet leaves the animal, then the full force of the impact was not exerted on the animal. I prefer that the bullet hits, enters and stops in the animal. That way the full joules force of the bullets's impact is imparted.

I prefer exits for the bullet. Like John Wooters once wrote about the 7mm-08 long before it was very popular shoot a buck with a 140gr partition and its will to escape goes out the other side.

My first year with the 7mm08 I used a factory load, at that time there was only one, the Remington 140gr Corlokt or so the box said. First deer with that round was a small 145lb 1.5 year old buck. First shot was to the shoulder, luckly the second shot only hit one rib on the way in. No exit and did not make it through the ribs on the off side. Remington later admitted they loaded some of the first factory fodder with non-corlokt bullets. After that I got a box of partitions to load and never looked back.

I pretty much disregard energy figures and Taylor's knock out index (which I would use before I used energy) was (IIRC) for shots to the head of an elephant that missed the brain. With all his experience I bet they were pretty close to reality, but that's not the same as killing a deer in fewest steps.

I want a bullet that both expands early and has enough oomph to exit.

Having said all that, if a bullet exits it means that it did not expand in the vitals as much as it could have. Their reasoning is that a bullet that stops under the hide on the off side expanded more, and earlier than one that exited.

It's a complicated question but, fortunately, one that doesn't require an exact answer.

There's really nothing wrong with a 130 grain bullet at 2600 fps but I think 3000 fps is easily obtainable in the .270 WCF.